Examining the Differences between Neologisms and Spelling Errors on Social Media

Abstract

Neologisms and spelling errors are common features of social media and have contributed immensely to easing information dissemination in today?s world. The advent of the internet has enabled linguistic advancement, linguistic oddities, and communication. As an evolving phenomenon, language grants its users the liberty to use it as it suits them to convey their varied messages. The global language monitor in Austin calculated that a neologism is created every 98 minutes, while a spelling error occurs in every five posts on social media. This paper aims to examine the differences between neologisms and spelling errors. This work's theoretical framework is anchored on-Mediated Communication, Geoffrey Leech?s theory of linguistic deviations, morphological processes of word formation, and Pitt Coder?s theory of Error Analysis. The paper retrieved its data from status updates and comments on various social media platforms. The findings indicate that neologisms are formed by morphological processes such as blending, clipping, shortening, semantic extension, and acronyms and abbreviations, while spelling errors are formed by erroneous patterns of addition, selection, and omission . The paper concludes that neologisms and spelling errors are distinctive linguistic entities. While some neologisms may have been accepted as dictionary entries, spelling errors are outright blunders and linguistic oddities. As such, they can never be accepted as standard forms of communication.